Voicemail systems have been around for a number of years. Traditional voicemail systems have generally been centered around an answering machine that may or may not be collocated with a caller. The voicemail systems can be analog or digital, and may also be a service offered by a carrier. Some of these answering machines allow a callee to intercept the caller while the caller is leaving a message on the machine.
More advanced voicemail systems allow enhanced functionality above and beyond simple “play” and “delete” functions. For example, this enhanced functionality can include fast forward, fast forward to end of message, faster playback, slower playback, repeat, envelope information, message skipping, replying to the message, calling back the caller who left the message, saving the message, forwarding the message, receive notification services, downloading of message(s), personal greeting and options menus, etc.
Callwave® provides an Internet based answering machine that is capable of receiving calls while online. The Caller ID and Caller Name features of Callwave® enable the user to view the name of the person calling while the callee is online. Before a callee hears a caller's message, the callee will see the caller's name and telephone number displayed in a window in the Callwave® interface. Thus, the callee is aware of who called even if the caller does not leave a message.